The Name of the Rose

The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. But his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths that take place in seven days and nights of apocalyptic terror. Brother William turns detective, and a uniquely deft one at that. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon-- all sharpened to a glistening edge by his wry humor and ferocious curiosity.

Baudolino

As Constantinople is being pillaged and burned in April 1204, a young man, Baudolino, manages to save a historian and a high court official from certain death at the hands of crusading warriors. Born a simple peasant, Baudolino has two gifts: his ability to learn languages and to lie. A young man, he is adopted by a foreign commander who sends him to university in Paris. After he allies with a group of fearless and adventurous fellow students, they go in search of a vast kingdom to the East.

The Prague Cemetery

Whether it’s a critically acclaimed novel or provocative collection of essays, every work from best-selling author Umberto Eco is a highly anticipated publishing event. The Prague Cemetery is set amid conspiracy-rich 19th century Europe, where intrigue abounds—and where a lone, evil genius may be pulling all the strings.

Numero Zero

Numero Zero is the feverish and delightfully readable tale of a ghostwriter in Milan whose work pulls him into an underworld of media politics and murderous conspiracies (involving the cadaver of Mussolini's double, naturally). This novel is vintage Eco - corrupt newspapers, clandestine plots, imaginary histories - and will appeal to his many readers and earn him legions of new ones.

How to Write a Thesis

By the time Umberto Eco published his best-selling novel The Name of the Rose, he was one of Italy's most celebrated intellectuals, a distinguished academic and the author of influential works on semiotics. Some years before that, in 1977, Eco published a little book for his students, How to Write a Thesis, in which he offered useful advice on all the steps involved in researching and writing a thesis.

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

Internationally best-selling author Umberto Eco is a master stylist whose books, including The Name of the Rose and Baudolino, have been savored by millions around the world. Now, with The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Eco crafts another of the ambitious and breathtaking novels that are his trademark.

Jerusalem

Alan Moore channels both the ecstatic visions of William Blake and the theoretical physics of Albert Einstein through the hardscrabble streets and alleys of his hometown of Northampton, UK. In the half a square mile of decay and demolition that was England's Saxon capital, eternity is loitering between the firetrap housing projects. Embedded in the grubby amber of the district's narrative, among its saints, kings, prostitutes, and derelicts, a different kind of human time is happening.

Six Walks in the Fictional Woods

In this exhilarating book, we accompany Umberto Eco as he explores the intricacies of fictional form and method. Using examples ranging from fairy tales and Flaubert, Poe and Mickey Spillane, Eco draws us in by means of a novelist's techniques, making us his collaborators in the creation of his text and in the investigation of some of fiction's most basic mechanisms.

Phenomenology of Spirit

Perhaps one of the most revolutionary works of philosophy ever presented, The Phenomenology of Spirit is Hegel's 1807 work that is in numerous ways extraordinary. A myriad of topics are discussed, and explained in such a harmoniously complex way that the method has been termed Hegelian dialectic. Ultimately, the work as a whole is a remarkable study of the mind's growth from its direct awareness to scientific philosophy, proving to be a difficult yet highly influential and enduring work.

Illuminatus! Part I: The Eye in the Pyramid

The Illuminati, an inside joke? The lunatic fringe? Or a vast conspiracy hidden for centuries, unleashing it's power on a naive, defenseless world? It was the lousy luck of Saul Goodman, a tough, streetwise New York detective, to smell the trail in a bombed-out office - the heavy case he'd always dreaded. In a breakneck race against an awesome deadline, Goodman plunges down the trail of the ultimate conspiracy as the days fall away toward Apocalypse.

Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison

This groundbreaking audiobook by Michel Foucault, the most influential philosopher since Sartre, compels us to reevaluate our assumptions about all the ensuing reforms in the penal institutions of the West. For as Foucault examines innovations that range from the abolition of torture to the institution of forced labor and the appearance of the modern penitentiary, he suggests that punishment has shifted its focus from the prisoner's body to his soul-and that our very concern with rehabilitation encourages and refines criminal activity.

A Brief History of the Knights Templar: Brief Histories

Much has been written about the Knights Templar in recent years. A leading specialist in the history of this legendary medieval order now writes a full account of the Knights of the Order of the Temple of Solomon, to give them their full title, bringing the latest findings to a general audience. Putting many of the myths finally to rest, Nicholson recounts a new history of these storm troopers of the papacy, founded during the crusades but who got so rich and influential

The Secret History of the World: As Laid Down by the Secret Societies

In this groundbreaking new work, Mark Booth embarks on an enthralling intellectual tour of our world's secret histories. Starting from a dangerous premise - that everything we've been taught about our world's past is corrupted, and that the stories put forward by the various cults and mystery schools throughout history are true - Booth produces nothing short of an alternate history of the past 3,000 years.

First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classic, an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman. Now discover the mystery and magic of American Gods in this 10th anniversary edition. Newly updated and expanded with the author's preferred text, this commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern masterpiece by the one, the only, Neil Gaiman.

The Secret History of Twin Peaks

From the cocreator of the landmark series, the story millions of fans have been waiting to get their hands on for 25 long years.

A vastly layered, wide-ranging history that deepens the mysteries of the iconic town in ways that will thrill disciples of the original series and will prep fans for the upcoming SHOWTIME® series like nothing else out there.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel

For 60 years Jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the federal district of Sitka, a temporary safe haven created in the wake of the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. The Jews of the Sitka District have created their own little world in the Alaskan panhandle, a vibrant and complex frontier city that moves to the music of Yiddish. But now the district is set to revert to Alaskan control, and their dream is coming to an end.

The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance

Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola.

Publisher's Summary

One Colonel Ardenti, who has unnaturally black, brilliantined hair, a carefully groomed mustache, wears maroon socks, and who once served in the Foreign Legion, starts it all. He tells three Milan book editors that he has discovered a coded message about a Templar Plan, centuries old and involving Stonehenge, a plan to tap a mystic source of power far greater than atomic energy.

The editors, who have spent altogether too much time rewriting crackpot manuscripts on the occult by fanatics and dilettante, decide to have a little fun. They'll create a Plan of their own. But how? Randomly they throw together manuscript pages on hermetic thought: The Masters of the World, who live beneath the earth. The Comte de Saint-Germain, who lives forever. They add Satanic initiation rites of the Kings of the Temple, Assassins, Rosicrucians, Brazilian voodoo, the Third Reich. And they feed all this, and much more, into their powerful computer. Abulafia. A terrific joke, they think, until the Plan assumes a life and power of its own, and turns deadly...as people mysteriously begin to disappear, one by one, starting with Colonel Ardenti.

whoever edited this book for this too short audio book pretty much ruined it. most of the things that truly make this book interesting were cut out. this is my favorite book to read...least favorite to listen to. on the good side, tim curry did a fine job reading this one.

I love this book, and I love Tim Curry. However, I do not love this recording at all. Basically the issues can be summed up as thus: the way it is abridged makes it difficult to follow if you haven't already read the full text; and the quality of the audio recording (although NOT the quality of the narration, which is excellent) makes listening difficult at best. This is such a shame, as I love the text and the reader and had hoped for great things.

I couldn't listen to this book because the audio quality is simply too bad. I had listened to the sample and thought it would be okay because I was in the comfort of my house, without any ambient noise. In the car however, I couldn't follow the story because I was missing too many words due to the poor quality of the audio recording.

I like Ecco and enjoyed in the Name of the Rose, but am disappointed in this audiobook. I think I would prefer the story if I were reading it. I found the audiobook a bit hard to follow. Perhaps this is due to the abridgement. I also disliked the narrator. I found his pronunciation of foreign words affected and a bit irritating. The most difficult thing about this audiobook, however, is the terrible sound. Audible states that format 2 is akin to AM radio. I'd say its worse than that if this audiobook is a typical example. The sound is very muddy. I listen to audiobooks while walking to work and this one was very difficult to hear with street noise in the bankground. It's not all that easy to listen to in silence.

First, be aware that the audio quality isn't super, being a conversion from Format 1, but I got beyond that without issue. The big problem I had with this audio book was that it was near impossible to follow the story. I can only suspect that the abridgement of this book took a lot away from the flow of the story. The entire time I listened it seemed like there were meaningful details and scenes just plain missing. By the time I was finished I really had very little idea of what was the significance of the ending. A colleague read the book, and listened to the audio version later, and enjoyed it immensely so I can only suppose that the abridgement had something to do with it.

I really enjoyed this book. Not only is Eco a master of language and story-telling, he is a master of suspense as well. I spent the entire time I listened to this book on the edge of my proverbial seat.
Tim Curry, the actor from Clue, does an amazing job reading the book. Bot only does he handle the different languages, but he conveys the mood and tempo of the book while remaining intelligible.
In the end, however, I spent much of the book wondering what I was missing. I dislike abridged works for that feeling. In this version's favor, the story line maintained its cohesiveness, as far as I could tell, unlike most of the other abridgemens I have read.

I originally thought this would just be a fun listen of fringe conspiricy theories woven into a story, and it was that. But it is also so much more. I've learned alot of obscure history by researching some of the story lines mentioned, like the Rosicrucian order. Or even the science behind the Foucault pendulum. All of which is fascinating. If you liked the DiVinci Code you'll love this, it is made even better by Tim Curry's reading of it. His voice was made for books on tape!

Tim Curry does an exemplary job reading Eco's brilliant meditation on the nature of secrets, of life, and the pursuit of truth and beauty. Having read the book twice before, I knew it intimately, and expected to be disappointed by the abridgement. To my surprise, the novel crackled along so well that it took me a while to realize what was missing: Belbo's diaries telling of his battles with fear and self-doubt, the tales of Seven Seas Jim, Don Tico's band, and the word games played with Belbo's computer Abulafia.

Contrary to earlier reviews, the book listens brilliantly, with much warmth, humor and suspense. It might also be your best introduction to Eco. Nor does the ending leave one wanting; Eco knows how to make his novels end with moments of deep revelation. I can say without hesitation that Foucault's Pendulum is one of the greatest books I have ever read (three times!). It will forever hold a special place in my life.

This version is too heavily abridged, the unabridged version by Alexander Adams (aka Grover Gardner) is superior in every way. Too bad it’s not available, it was only ever available on cassette tapes. Tim Curry brings drama to this version, though he mispronounces some names (notably Wagner, where the desired pronunciation is specified in the text) and his vigorous inflection of the key phrase “Ma gavte la nata” is completely wrong.

Some of the book is retranslated, and some foreign phrases that, in the text, remain as foreign phrases, are instead translated into English. One egregious case of mistranslation comes near the end, during Casaubon’s final meeting with Wagner, whose reply “Monsieur, vous etes fou”, is rendered as “Monsieur, you are a fool” (it should be: Sir, you are insane).

Another complaint is about the distorted sound quality of the transitional music, which I regard as extraneous in any event. Nevertheless, on balance I did enjoy listening to this, being quite fanatical about the book. Hopefully the unabridged versions of Eco’s novels will reappear.

I liked some aspects of the plot. The whole idea of creating a story that takes on a life of its own. However the audio, the way the story was told, and probably some things missing from the book really made this story no that good. At the end I wish I would have listened to something else.